On November 1st Cold War Kids descended on Headliners Music Hall delivering an energetic performance.
Opening up for the band to a sold out crowd was an emerging LA-based band, In The Valley Below. Led by vocalist, Angela Gail and Jeffrey Jacob, their duets are reminiscent of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on a background of swirling and moody electronic pop with deep bass tracks.
Their catchy tunes coupled with stage presence suggest they will be headliners themselves very soon. If you have not heard them check out recent tracks Last Soul, Peaches, and Stand Up.
A refreshing rock band coming to our rescue in a sea of digitally remastered voices blasting from all directions these days, Cold War Kids, did not fail to deliver. The quartet hails from Long Beach, CA and frontman, Nathan Willett, delivers the kind of soulful wails on their fourth and most recent album, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts, it frankly scares me they would not be able to recreate that magic live.
In the end they nailed it. It is obvious this band was a live band before a studio band as their show was a soulful, incessant staccato of their latest hits with few pauses to greet and acknowledge the excited fans.
The setlist ebbed and flowed across uptempo songs like Miracle Mile and Loner Phase to slower and bluesy numbers like Tuxedos with Nathan seated and singing away at the keyboard. By the time they hit their encore it appeared no one had yet left the building and for good reason. If you feel drained by today’s culture of highly produced bands and their tracks made for marketing and either miss or never experienced the era of passionate and soulful rock music with a message check out Cold War Kids.
Photos: Glenn Hirsch
